Factory Drivers

[997 brakedust]

Have always been curious as to how the factory driver process works? For example I assume that Porsche pays it's driver's a salary.

From a team owners perspective, how does one obtain a factory driver? A few year ago at Le Mans just about the entire GT2 grid were 911s, how does Porsche decide what team to place it's drivers? Do they have to meet some type of minimum performance requirements? Does the team pay for the services of a factory drive to Porsche? Does Porsche also supply technical support when agreeing to supply a factory driver?

Last year, Audi had 2 Porsche factory drivers, did Audi pay Porsche for their services?

[Parramatta_Power]

Depends on which Team the Manufacturer aligns itself with... Then the contractual obligations dictate which team the drivers must race for.

[Atle Gulbrandsen]

Very interesting topic.

As a racingdriver with ambitions myself I have always wondered how this works. Even though I work as a motorsport journalist besides my racing I have never really figured out how this works.

1. Porsche
Porsche has 7-8 factory drivers, but no major factory team. I guess the drivers get a salary from Porsche, but what about the teams? Do the teams that hire a factory driver get money from Porsche as well? Or do they just want a proffesional driver?

2. How much
How much do the factory drivers for Porsche, Audi etc. in sportscar racing get paid?

3. How many?
How many of the sportscar drivers (and racing in general) gets paid? How many gets to drive for free, and how many has to bring money/sponsorship? The more I get to know about this I understand that a lot more drivers than I first thought brings sponsorship.

Take the AMLS, for example. How many of those drivers are really professional racing drivers that gets paid? I don't want to mention any names but what about all the European drivers that drives GT-cars in AMLS and Grand Am. Do they geit paid or do they bring money?

4. The selection
And how to the proffesional teams select their drivers? It's so many good racing drivers out there, but it's very difficult to see the difference. Some are in good cars, some are unlucky, some have a lot of money and some don't.

How is it really possible for a driver without a lot of money to ever be selected by a top team?

Best regards
Atle Gulbrandsen
www.atlegulbrandsen.com

[The Badger]

Im curious about Dirk Werner . He wasnt exactly a works driver , but he certainly seemed to have a level of Porsche support ?

[cmk]

I think both Porsche and Ferrari helped set favoured non-factory drivers up with appropriate teams by making introductions etc. which Dirk Werner, Marcel Tiemann and Marc Basseng among others benefited from. Since they were not official factory pilots I would reason they did not receive their pay cheques from Porsche.

[Atle Gulbrandsen]

Some of the GT-drivers today don't have the most impressive CV's. I understand that a lot of very good drivers can lack the best results because the didn't have the money to race in the most prestigous series, race for the best team etc.

But anyway. How many of the GT-drivers are really proffesional, or are they just rich people paying to drive - and pretending to be proffesional?

In single seater/open wheel almost everyone has to bring money until they are in F1, and just a handful get paid in IndyCar these days.

But what about sportscar racing. Is it possible to become proffesional, or is it just a sport for rich people and/or a competition in getting sponsorship?

[Speed-King]

From what I gather, a lot of the faster GT-drivers race (basically) for free and make their money with performance driver educations and the like. For example, GT-Masters pilot Nicholas Armindo is a driving instructor at the Hockenheimring.

But rich or at least very dedicated and somewhat well-off parents are almost a must to even get through karting and the various junior formulae.

[WMUCarGuy]

Originally Posted by cmk

I think both Porsche and Ferrari helped set favoured non-factory drivers up with appropriate teams by making introductions etc. which Dirk Werner, Marcel Tiemann and Marc Basseng among others benefited from. Since they were not official factory pilots I would reason they did not receive their pay cheques from Porsche.

Don't forget Westbrook!

[old man]

Atle Gulbrandsen asks some good questions and we do not appear to have firm answers, here are my thoughts:

For Porsche teams there are always certain teams who are "supported" by the factory and the drivers are sent along free but the team pays all their expenses. Same applies to Ferrari drivers. Porsche will also provide some spares and loan a factory car to their favoured team but again the team has to maintain it at their own expense. It used to be that the factory Porsche team also got factory Michelin tyres but that has gone now

Most of the drivers in GT pay their own way and very few get paid to race. Apart from the factory drivers there are a handful in GT1 and some in GT2 that can command a fee. Then there are some that bring other benefits, tyre contracts for example often follow a driver.

Driver factory fees are less now than a few years ago and less in GT than WTCC or GTC but I believe 100,000 Euro would be about the figure these days, a driver that can command a fee would be happy with $5 - 10,000 per race, (some very happy!) In the US there are lots of guys who make a living coaching and do well out of it but in Europe the daily fee is lower and in these days of recession there is less of that sort of work about.

Very few teams have the financial clout to select all their drivers these days, or select all other parts of the deal but where the team can race without compromise they can be very successful. It gets very difficult for a team to set up and go racing and make it pay these days and you only have to look how often teams come and go to realise that is the case. Look at how many teams have had the factory deal from Porsche or Ferrari in the last few years and, despite doing well have pulled out after one or two seasons when the team owner has realised how much of his own money has gone into promoting a multi National company without recognition.

Running a factory backed team works best if your own business is race based or you have a big sponsor that can gain from the profile of the series.

In answer to your last question, extremely difficult because you need enough money to race in some capacity to prove your ability and if that does not start with Karts you are struggling IMO

Any driver without personal finance that keeps going for many years in racing at any level is a talented driver and brilliant deal maker it seems to me. Success breeds success of course and we can all think of drivers at the very top who have had some good breaks and made the most of them to build a name that endures. Whatever else, total dedication is required

[Atle Gulbrandsen]

Thank you for the answers.

I race myself in the German VLN Endurance Series, and I have driven for free the last five years, because of my talent! It's not in the fastest class, and VLN is not the most prestigous championship in the world, but I'm very satisified.

Of course I have ambitions, but I understand that it will cost me money to climb the ladder towards Le Mans, ALMS etc. - and you know what? Then I would rather drive for free in the VLN than to use all my money (and more) to drive something else...

Atle Gulbrandsen

[Parramatta_Power]

Does Karting & Lower Level Formulae form a great base from which Sports Car drivers emerge from or Small-Time Touring Car challenges???

[old man]

The advantage that karting gives is that a driver learns things like overtaking skill and race strategy from a very young age so that by the time he is old enough to race a car these things are alomost second nature. Inate abilities such as balance and co-ordination are obvious from the early days in a kart and are honed by racing up to 4 and more races each weekend when young so that they too become automatic reflexes.

If a driver comes to racing at say 16/17 he has lot of catching up to do and whilst not impossible my opinion would be that the natural skills must be good and obvious to the coach so that the learned skills can be worked on. At this stage many coaches put a driver into karting just to build up race experience and skill

The Porsche PR man confirms the experience point. Personally I regret the move that started with Kimi whereby very young drivers are taken into F1 so that now if you are not there by 22/23 you have no chance. This has shortened the ladder to the top and whilst it is good for those that make it others feel like failures when this is not the case. With F1 pulling in so much money from manufacturers, sponsors, TV and spectators, saloon and sports GT racing have fewer opportunities for aspiring drivers with little or no funding

The Porsche ladder of Carrera cup racing is an excellent thing with decent (?) prize money and the annual Porsche Cup awards offer reward to drivers of non factory cars and is also a very real contribution to the career of professional and amateur drivers alike. In the last 2 or 3 years these awards have not had the publicity they deserve and I would like to see the other big GT manufacturers following the Porsche example to encourage drivers. Aston Martin look as if they are going to do something but there is nothing like a driver development programme from either Ferrari or Corvette.

When I raced, European sportscar racing had start and prize money that allowed amateur teams to run but those days are gone with the loss of spectator income to circuits and the competition in TV so a driver with little funding has a bigger battle to make a living, not impossible, but hard work.

[Bentley03]

Fascinating thread, very 'educational'!

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Fascinating thread, very 'educational'!

Yes very much so.

[cmk]

Indeed! Thanks, Andy, for being willing to explain a part of our favourite sport that adds a lot of value without being well-understood. The tacit factory support from Porsche and Ferrari sustained the GT2 class almost completely in the period between BMW factory teams and yet we did not really know how it worked!

I hope we see both soon-to-be-current and soon-to-be-past Porsche factory drivers putting in another competitive year in Weissach's finest.

[Alex Hodgkinson]

Fantastic thread. As another driver with ambition to reach such a level with my racing I'll continue to pay close attention.

To add to the question that was asked before, how much do works drivers get paid I know of one driver who seems to always be in Porsches and has mentioned a few times that his drives are paid for by Porsche. Does that make them a Porsche driver, just very lucky, or maybe in the frame to become a factory driver in the future?

Atle Gulbrandsen, your position in racing interests and inspires me equal amounts. It may be rude of me to ask, but how do you manage to drive for free for 5 years? Do you have to find the sponsorship, or are you asked first hand by team(s) to drive for them?

[997 brakedust]

Thanks for the insight! So what about the 2 Porsche works drivers that drove for Audi last year? I assume it's "spelled out" in their contracts but curious as to who is compensated by Audi - would it be both Porsche Motorsports and the drivers?

[TWK]

Originally Posted by 997 brakedust

Thanks for the insight! So what about the 2 Porsche works drivers that drove for Audi last year? I assume it's "spelled out" in their contracts but curious as to who is compensated by Audi - would it be both Porsche Motorsports and the drivers?

Bernhard and Dumas at Le Mans? Undoubtedly a deal between the two companies (or one, if you want to look at it that way). Likely treated as a "loan."

[joeb]

There is a thread about the Porsche factory drivers for 2010, but does anybody know about Ferrari's support? Who are their drivers for 2010?

[dxk1]

Originally Posted by joeb

There is a thread about the Porsche factory drivers for 2010, but does anybody know about Ferrari's support? Who are their drivers for 2010?

Looks like at least Bruni and Melo for both AC Corse and Risi in LMS and ALMS for 2010 are Factory drivers for Ferrari.

DK

[joeb]

Originally Posted by dxk1

Looks like at least Bruni and Melo for both AC Corse and Risi in LMS and ALMS for 2010 are Factory drivers for Ferrari.

DK

Those are the only two I could come up with as well.

[dj choc ice]

fantastic thread, Atle has raised some very good and valid points. Coming to the whole point of getting a break, i did my ARDS last year and got my national B race license and was told by the instructors that I was a bit of a natural, pretty quick, very consistent and smooth and that i could go a very long way.
But like so many people, i dont have enough money to even get started, let alone move up the ladder. Its quite frankly ****, at the moment im in uni doing part time work as a photographer/journo and im hoping one day it will all culminate and ill end up racing somewhere, somehow.
Cracking post though Atle, we need more people like you in motorsport to inspire us, hopefully one day things will change. So we have more people racing and getting the chances they deserve in motorsport, particularly the one's with talent and not the Rich and not very talented clot's which do cloud motorsport unfortunately.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by dj choc ice

fantastic thread, Atle has raised some very good and valid points. Coming to the whole point of getting a break, i did my ARDS last year and got my national B race license and was told by the instructors that I was a bit of a natural, pretty quick, very consistent and smooth and that i could go a very long way.
But like so many people, i dont have enough money to even get started, let alone move up the ladder. Its quite frankly ****, at the moment im in uni doing part time work as a photographer/journo and im hoping one day it will all culminate and ill end up racing somewhere, somehow.
Cracking post though Atle, we need more people like you in motorsport to inspire us, hopefully one day things will change. So we have more people racing and getting the chances they deserve in motorsport, particularly the one's with talent and not the Rich and not very talented clot's which do cloud motorsport unfortunately.

You know I was in exactly your same shoes at one point and I understand completely. I came from a non motorsport family, did not have any family money, did not have any business connections, nor any money or wealth of my own. Talk about being completely on the outside looking in.

It took a little bit to accept I couldn't fly off to the UK to do Formula Ford as I couldn't even buy a plane ticket, much less afford gas to make it to work everyday. So I got my education, got to work after university, did tons of research and came up with a plan. I was finally able to make the break into full time motorsports and driving a few years ago. And I definitely took the unconventional approach as well.

So I am unapologetic about being a bit older now, nor do I worry what people think. You do what you can, when you can and do the best with the opportunities you create for yourself. And what I found as well is don't be afraid to ask for help or a break. Some people will slam the door in your face, but there have been a number of people that gave me a chance just because I asked for it and had the enthusiasm for it.